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Midnight Friday first Obamacare deadline for Colorado enrollees

Gazette, The (CO)

A crucial Obamacare deadline is fast approaching.

Midnight Friday marks the first - and possibly most important - deadline of the current Affordable Care Act sign-up season, when shoppers must pick a plan if they want that coverage to take effect New Year's Day.

Coloradans who miss that deadline still have until Jan. 12 to enroll in a plan for 2018. But that coverage won't take effect until Feb. 1.

"The sooner you can start, the better," said Luke Clarke, spokesman for Colorado's health insurance exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.

Health insurance sign-ups through Colorado's exchange on the rise

The exchange has extended its call center hours ahead of the deadline, with phone lines open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and from 7 a.m. to midnight Friday.

Premiums rose dramatically for 2018, due in part to attempts by President Donald Trump to derail his predecessor's health law, and rising medical and prescription drug prices.

Average rates jumped 33 percent across the state for 2018 - the second straight year of double-digit increases.

Still, subsidies and tax credits available only on the state's exchange also rose in lock-step with those premium increases - meaning many shoppers can avoid those price hikes.

So far, many more people have signed up this year on the exchange than during the first month of 2016's open enrollment period.

The exchange reported 43,881 plans selected in the month of November - a 29 percent increase over November 2016, according to the exchange.

People whose 2017 plans are being continued in 2018 will likely be automatically renewed on Friday in that same plan. But exchange officials and health care experts suggest those policyholders still shop around, because cheaper plans are likely available.

"Look at all the options," Clarke said. "And the first step is to see if you qualify for financial help."

People who go without coverage in 2018 could face a tax penalty of $695 per adult ($347.50 per child younger than 18) or 2.5 percent of a person's yearly household income, whichever is greater. However, several exemptions exist.